Not something that is very likely to happen, but they are also not totally finished. They sit five points back of the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 13 games to play and have almost zero margin for error. They not only need to keep winning (something they have done a lot of lately with a 19-5-2 record in their past 26 games), but they are also going to need some help from the teams ahead of them to lose a couple of extra games.

The first and most important step is the winning, and Thursday’s game starts what could be a decisive 24-hour stretch for the Flyers’ slim playoff hopes, and they will be turning back to rookie goalie Carter Hart who will be making his first start after missing the past three weeks due to injury.

Hart has been sidelined since Feb. 21, and his last two appearances prior to that were not exactly his best outings of the season, playing just 10 minutes in each of them and giving up three goals on nine shots (in both appearances). That has proven to be a rare speed bump for him since making his NHL debut as he currently carries a .917 save percentage, while giving the organization and its fans some hope that maybe, finally, after decades of frustration, they have found a capable starting goalie.

Now, in his first game back in the lineup he is getting thrown to the wolves against the defending Stanley Cup champions who have won seven out of their past eight games and are finally starting to play like a championship level team.

So here is the situation the Flyers are facing starting on Thursday.

A win, combined with a Montreal loss in regulation to the Islanders, would pull them to within three points of the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

On the other hand, a Flyers loss, combined with a Montreal win, would push them to seven points back and really put them in a hole that may be too deep to get out of.

The Flyers are then right back in action on Friday night against a dangerous, and what will be a rested, Toronto Maple Leafs team, while the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets — two of the teams the Flyers are chasing — meet in a head-to-head matchup, meaning at least one team is coming out of that game with two points.

After all of that, they have to travel to Pittsburgh for a game with the Penguins on Sunday night.

So that is what is at stake for the Flyers in the short-term. If they can find a way to beat two of the Eastern Conference’s biggest contenders on Thursday and Friday they could find themselves right back in the thick of the playoff race and right there in contention for a spot.

If they lose even one, let alone both, their season might be finished.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau only received a minor for boarding Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ashton Sautner Thursday night, but the Ottawa Senators forward could be punished again following his discipline hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety.

The DoPS will be speaking with Pageau after his second period hit on Sautner. The Canucks blue liner left the game for a bit before returning to finish Vancouver’s 7-4 win over the Senators.

Pageau, who took a big, unpenalized hit from Jake Virtanen earlier in the game, will likely be sitting for one or two games here. He eyes Sautner as he’s going to retrieve the puck along the boards and the Canucks defenseman does not peek behind him to see Pageau coming, nor does he change any part of his body before the Senators forward drills him between the numbers.

Given Sautner’s position on the ice and the fact he didn’t know he was about to be hit from behind, Pageau does not try to minimize contact or avoid his check. That’s a textbook suspension.

The top trio of stars and some other standouts with a lot to gain financially when the season is finished, if not sooner:

KARLSSON

The San Jose Sharks acquired the two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman from Ottawa before the season started, hoping they would have him for more than a year. To keep Karlsson off the market as an unrestricted free agent, San Jose may have to at least match the eight-year, $88 million deal the Los Angeles Kings gave defenseman Drew Doughty to stay last summer.

PANARIN

Dynamic scorers like the Russian winger rarely are available in free agency and a team that wants to spend a lot of money over many years may be able to land an 80-point scorer. Panarin has already said he wants to see if there are better options in the summer than staying with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are simply hoping he helps them win at least a postseason series for the first time.

BOBROVSKY

Big-time goaltenders, like the two-time Vezina Trophy winner, usually stay with their teams and off the market. Like his teammate and fellow countryman, the 30-year-old Bobrovsky will probably want to make the most of his opportunity to make as much money as he can with his next deal while being at or near the prime or his career.

It was a good time for the center, and his bank account, to have one of the best years of his career. He’s averaging more than a point per game this season, starting with Ottawa, before being dealt to Columbus . If Panarin and Bobrovsky appear to be leaving in free agency after the season, the Blue Jackets may give the 28-year-old Duchene a lot to stay before the market opens.

The center has a shot to surpass the 63 points he has reached twice before the team he plays for, the Buffalo Sabres, are relegated to watching the postseason for an eighth straight season. The Sabres want to re-sign Skinner, but he might be willing to take a seven-year deal – instead of the eight he can get to stay – and join a Stanley Cup contender.

He has been out for nearly a month with a back injury, but barring it lingering into the playoffs to cast doubt on his long-term health, one of the best defensemen available will be paid well to stay in Toronto or to go play for another team.

The winger has not produced much offensively with Nashville, which acquired him from Philadelphia, and yet he will have a chance to make a lasting impression when it matters most in the playoffs. Simmonds has a rare combination of scoring ability, toughness and durability.

Push for the Playoffs will run every morning through the end of the 2018-19 NHL season. We’ll highlight the current playoff picture in both conferences, take a look at what the first-round matchups might look like, see who’s leading the race for the best odds in the draft lottery and more.

The Carolina Hurricanes are beginning to strengthen their hold on an Eastern Conference playoff spot. That pretty much heats things up for both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens. Montreal’s only salvation is a wild card place, while the Blue Jackets (and Hurricanes) still have a shot at grabbing one of the Metropolitan Division’s three seeds.

The Blue Jackets started off their four-game road trip with losses to the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames. They head to Edmonton tonight and Vancouver on Sunday in two games where heading home with four points in the bag could go a long way. Of their final nine games, only three come against teams currently in a playoff position. Then there’s March 28 when they host the Canadiens, which could be big boost for either team’s postseason dreams.

“We’ve had a tough schedule, but if you want to make the playoffs and you want to do damage in the playoffs, those are the teams you have to beat,” said defenseman Scott Harrington. “It’s great to prepare us for what’s potentially upcoming and where we want to be.”

Columbus’ biggest issue of late has been their inability to score. They’ve averaged only 2.2 goals per game in their last 12 games. Their big trade deadline acquisitions are still warming up. Matt Duchene has two goals in this last four games after going goalless in this first eight games with the Blue Jackets. Meanwhile, Ryan Dzingel has just one since being dealt from Ottawa.

Given GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s moves at the deadline, there’s pressure on the entire organization to make the playoffs. Columbus is 5-6-1 since the deadline, and while they may have the NHL’s eighth-easiest schedule remaining, those opponents cannot be overlooked.

“We’re not getting the results, which is frustrating, but the process is there,” said Duchene. “The second you deviate from the process is when you start to fail and deserve to fail. We’ll keep going and we’ll stay with it and take it one day at a time.”